Petrol price relief: November price cut expected after eight long months in South Africa

New data from the Central Energy Fund of South Africa shows that the petrol price is set to drop by 3c in November.

The possible decrease is attributed to a strengthening rand and a decrease in Brent crude oil prices.

South Africa’s petrol price jumped to a record-breaking R17.08 in October; this would be the first decrease in eight months.

The South African petrol price is set to drop by 3c per litre in November, the first drop in eight months, new data from the Central Energy Fund (CEF) shows.

But the news is not all good: the diesel price is set for a massive 35c per litre hike.

The possible decrease in the petrol price is attributed to a strengthening rand, and the global decrease in Brent crude oil prices, data from the CEF released on Wednesday shows.

The CEF is a state-owned entity mandated to manage PetroSA and Strategic Fuel Fund (SFF) to secure South Africa’s national energy security.

Hugo Pienaar, senior economist at the Bureau for Economic Research at Stellenbosch University, said things are looking increasingly promising for consumers in South Africa.

“It is not only that the rand, on average, performed stronger against the US dollar, but the oil price also fell sharply from around $86 a barrel in early October, to around $76 today,” Pienaar told Business Insider South Africa.

He said the petrol price may decrease slightly or remain the same as October prices when a formal determination is made.

The local petrol price jumped to a record-breaking R17.08 inland in October, and R16.49 at the cost.

“I think the most important point is that the price [of petrol] will stay roughly the same, which in itself is positive after the sharp increases,” said Pienaar.

President Cyril Ramaphosa set up an inter-ministerial committee in July to investigate possible interventions the state can make to lessen the effect of petrol price hikes on South Africans.

The initial report was set to be completed by September, but has now been postponed to the end of November, energy minister Jeff Radebe said this week.